Advertising sign



vFeb. 20, 1923.

P. W. SHEPHARD.

' ADVERTISING SIGN.

FILED w a FF.

Feb. 20, 1923; 1,445,977.

P. W. SHEPHARD.

ADVERTISING SIGN.

FILED FEB. 24. 1922. v a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Feb. 20, 1928. 1,445,977.

D P. w. SHEPHARD.

ADVERTISING SIGN.

FILED FEB. 24,1922. 3 SHEETSSHEET 3 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

fjnvem ro n Patented Feb. 20, 1923.

PATENT OFFICE.

PERCIVAL W. SHEPHABD, BOERNE, TEXAS.

ADVERTISING SIGN.

Application filed February 24, 1922. Serial No. 588,887.

color, and motion, and where a sign em-' bodies all of these features it. attracts and holds the attention with more certainty than where one or another of these features is lacking. A sign operating with the appearance of motion is more certain to attract attention than a sign from which this feature is absent. The display of colors, particularly when under conditions of illumination, is also a feature which greatly enhances the attractiveness of an advertising sign. \Vhere the colors are more or less fre uently changed, the attractiveness is greaty enhanced. The primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide an advertising sign which in its operation will exhibit the appearance of motion attended by constantly changing lighting and color effects thus combining all of the features above referred to and producing a sign capable of attracting and holding the atten Zion of the observer with certainty and for such period of time as to induce him to read the message conveyed by the advertising matter of the sign.

Heretofore changes in lighting and color effects have been produced principally by the employment of flashing mechanisms and variously colored light bulbs or the like but such an arrangement is expensive to install and operate and the field of ,variations in effects displayed is greatly limited. Therefore it is another important object of the present invention to obviate the employment of flashing mechanisms and at the sametime to provide a simple and inexpensive means for producing a constantly changing display of colors under conditions of illumination.

Another objection attending the use of signs employing colored lights and flashing mechanism associated therewith is that there must usually be an abrupt change from one color to another. Therefore it .is another important object of the invention to provide means whereby, throughout the area of the sign display surface, there will be a continually changing or varying display of colors and tints, the colors blending and gradually changlng through a shading ofl into one another, so that a most pleasing effect is produced. In this connection theinvention contemplates the employment of color media embracing for example certain .of the primary colors and functioning in such a manner as to effect a blending of these colors to produce all possible spectral combinations thereof and thus display all colors and gradations of colors of the solar spectrum.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a sign construction of such nature that the color and lighting effects to be displayed thereby may be varied at will by substitution and rearrangement of parts.

Another object'of the invention is to pro vide a sign which while more attractive than the majority of signs embodying expensive flashing mechanisms, will be inexpensive to construct, install, and maintain in operation.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of advertising sign embodying tion;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional. view through the sign, arts being shown in elevation and parts being broken away to vbetter illustrate the arrangement;

Figure 3 is a vertical diametric sectional view through the sign substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

"Figure 4 is a plan view of themechanism provided for imparting motion to the color media of the sign;

Figure 5 is-a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the means provided for guiding the color media in their movement;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional perthe invenspective view of one of the color media illustratin the structure thereof;

Figure is aview in elevation said media; and.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 4 illustrating a modified form of 0010! media operating mechanism.

In the drawings there is illustrateda form of sign which may be of any desired of one of size and therefore be of a size suitable for,

window display or of a size suitable for street display. The drawings are therefore, in fact, to be considered merely as illustrative of one embodiment of the invention and it will be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement' of the component parts of the sign so long as the principles of the invention are present.

The sign preferably embodies a casing which is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and which in the present instance is substantially of cylindrical form, this casing being mounted upon a suitable pedestal 2 having a supporting base 3 or, if desired, being supported in any other convenient or desirable manner. The casing 1 may be open at one or both sides as desired so as to display advertising matter at one or both sides, but for the purpose of exemplifying the principles of the invention, it will be considered that it is desired to display advertising matter at bot-h sides of said casing. As a source of illumination, :1 number of electric light bulbs 4 of clear glass are preferably arranged in an annular series about the inner circumference of the wall of the casing and have associated with them semiannular reflectors 5 suitably designed to distribute the light rays. The bulbs 4; preferably are disposed radially about the axis of the casing and somewhat removed from the axis. and if desired or found expedient another electric light bulb 6 may be suspended or otherwise supported within the casing substantially at the center thereof thus providing for a. more uniform illumination of the sign display surface. The casing 1 maybe open at its top and provided with a suitable covering dome 7 having ventilating openings 8, and similar openings 9' may be provided in the pedestal 2 so as to permit a passage of air through the casing and prevent overheating through protracted burning of the lamps 4 and 6.

Generally speaking the invention contemplates the provision of a sign display surface in either or both sides of the casing 1, relatively movable color media disposed and operating between the sign display surface and the source of illumination within the casing. and means for imparting motion to the media. the light rays passing from the source of illumination through the color media by which they are tinted be fore reaching and illuminating the display surface or surfaces.

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings. the sign display surface at either side of the casing 1 comprises three component parts or panes indicated one by the numeral 10. another by the numeral 11. and the third by the numeral 12. The pane 10 may be of glass. celluloid.

or any other transparent, translucent or opaque material", and bears sign characters indicated by the numeral 13 which may be painted, cut out, or otherwise depicted upon or in the said pane. As a general proposition the sign characters will be transparent or translucent and the remaining area of the pane will be more or less opaque, or the sign characters will be more or less opaque and the remaining area of the pane will be transparent or translucent. here the sign characters are painted or similarly depicted upon the pane, the advertising matter may of course be varied from time to time without the necessity of substituting a new pane, or it may be found desirable to employ cloth. paper. or some other similar material instead of glass in producing this element of the display surface.

The member 11 of the display surface preferably comprises a pane of glass one or both faces of which is molded or otherwise provided with numerous prismatic projections or depressions as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings.

The member 12 of the display surface comprises a pane or disc-like sheet of some opaque or translucent material and is provided with a number of small. perforations 15 extending over its entire area. If desired, instead of forming perforations in an opaque pane. the pane '12 may be of opaque material except for transparent or translucent punctiform areas corresponding to the perforations 15. In any event the pane 12. when employed. serves to transmit the lightrays from the source of light to the panes 10 and 11 in the form of pencils and it may therefore .be considered a light-ray pencilling medium, The prismatic pane 11 may be considered as a diffractive medium, and therefore the sign display surface as a whole may be said to consist of a sign character display gsurface proper. a difi'ractive medium. and a light-ray pencilling medium: and at this point it will be evident that the light rays from the lamps 4 and 6 or other source of illumination pen-, cilled by the perforations or transparent areas of the pane 1:? will be variously reflected in passing through the small prisms upon the face or faces of the pane 11 before reaching the pane 10. It will also be stood that if desired one or the other, and under some conditions even both of the lates 11 and 12 may be dispensed with, osing of course any advantages which might accrue from the employment of such plate or plates.

The means provided at either or both sides of the casing for producing changes or variations in color efi'ects preferably comprises a pair of rotatab-ly supported color screens indicated in general one by the numeral l6 and the other by the numeral 17. Usually these screens will be identical and each preferably comprises an annular rim 18 preferably of circular cross section and bounding a light-transmitting medium 19 of transparent or translucent material such as gelatin, glass, celluloid, or the like. Preferably, although not necessarily, the colored light-transmitting medium 19 is sustained by a sheet 20 of open mesh woven material such for example as wire mesh, arranged within the rim 18', the material of which the medium 19 is composed being preferably moulded in the form of a film. upon said sheet 20. While the sheet 20 is referably of the character above outlined it may be made of some other material as long as it is foraminous and sufficiently open to not materially interfere with the free passage of light rays through the film comprising the color medium 19.

Whether the .film comprising the color medium 19 be of integral structure or made up of a number of sections, is immaterial, but in any event it is contemplated that the said medium 19 shall have its area 'divided up into color fields some of which are indicated by the numerals 21, 22 and 23 and others by the numeral 24. Thus for example all of the color fields 21 ma be red, the color fields '22 ellow, and t e color fields 23 blue, and tiiese fields, in the embodiment-illustrated, are arranged in groups in the order stated in a general radial series about the axisof the member 16. Ad

jacent ones of the fields 21, 22 and 23 are preferably separated by the fields 24 which are clear, transparent, or translucent, so as to transmit white light. The fields 21, 22 and 23 ma be given any desired marginal outline an may for exam le have the substantially serpentine or sinusoidal configuration illustrated in Figures 2 and 5 of the drawings, and may be of gradually increasing width from their inner to their outer ends and either of corresponding dimensions throughout the entire series or of varying dimensions as found desirable. The intervening white light fields 24 are generally narrower than the fields 21, 22 and 23. The fields 21, 22 and 23 will for convenience be referred to as spectral color fields whereginal contour of the various spectral color and white light fields may be varied to produce difi'erent effects without departing from the s irit of the invention. Forexample in Figure 7 of the drawings the fields are caused to assume a spiral of cycloidal form. I

In accordance with the invention and by a means to be presently described, the color media 16 and 17 are disposed relatively close to ether in parallel planes immediately inward y of the sign display medium of the apparatus as illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings and are rotated relatively in opposite directions with a continuous and even motion. As the media are thus relatively rotated, the spectral color and white light fields of one color medium will pass the fields of the other medium, so that there will be a continually varying overlapping ofthe fields of the two media. Thus when the red and yellow fields of the two media are brought substantiall opposite each other the rays from t e source of light will be tinted orange; when the yellow and blue fields are opposite each other the rays will be tinted green; and, when the red and blue fields are opposite each other the rays will be tinted violet or purple. \Vhen the corresponding color areas ofthe two media are brought opposite to each other as for example the red opposite the red, the respective color will be intensified. On the other hand when the white light areas 24 are brought oppo- 100 site any of the spectral color areas 21, 22 and 23, the rays passing through the corres onding last mentioned color area will be tinted a lighter shade of such color. Also as non-correspondin ones of the color areas 5 21, 22 and 23 of the two media begin to overlap in their assage past each other not only will the primary and various second ary colors be produced by a composition of the'difi'erent color areas, but there will 11 also be produced various shades of these colors. .Thus as the color media are rotated relative to each other in the manner stated, the display portion of the sign will be illuminated with a contsantly shifting and con- 115 tinually changing array of colors embracing practically the entire solar spectrumr Furthermore inasmuch. .as thp color fields are not defined by straight radial boundrv lines, the fields of the two color media will not uniformly-overla as the-media are relatively rotated, an therefore the complexity of the system of color transformation is greatly increased, and a more startling and mystifying efi'ect is produced than 12 would be obtained if the color fields were bounded by straight radial lines. At this point it may be observed that the color media may be so disposed with relation to each other as to corrcspohdingly present their several component color fields, that is to say so that at certain points in the relative rotative movement of the media, the fields 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the two media will be not only opposite each other but in substantial registration or uniformly overlapped relation. or the media may be so arranged as to relatively reversely dispose the color areas so that at no point in the relative rotation of the media will any area of either media be precisely opposite and in registration with any corresponding or non-corresponding area of the other one of the media. It may also be remarked at this point that while by the provision of the white light areas 24, the effect of lighter shades of color is appropriately produced, these areas may be dispensed with if there be no objection to sacrificing this advantage.

One type of mechanism which may be employed in impartin rotary motion to the color media 16 and 17 is illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings and indicated in general by the numeral 25. This mechanism comprises an electric motor 26 upon both ends of the shaft of which are fixed worms 2? which mesh with worm pinions 28 which are fixed upon shafts 29 journaled in a' suitable frame structure 30. Each shaft 29 has fixed upon it a gear 31 which meshes with a pinion 32 upon a shaft 33 mounted within the frame structure 30 parallel to the respective shaft 29. Other shafts 34 are rotatably mounted parallel to the respective shafts 33, and gears 35 and 36 are fixed upon the shafts 33 and 34 respectively and mutually mesh so that power transmitted from the motor shaft to the shaft 29 will impart rotary motion to the shaft 33, and through the gears 35 and 36 to the shaft 34, these shafts 33 and 34 being however rotated in relatively opposite directions. As the gearing above described is duplicated at the opposite ends of the frame structure 30 and motor 26. the rela} tively remote shafts 33 and 34 will be rotated in the same direction. Peripherally grooved wheels 37 and 38 are fixed upon the ends of the shafts 33 and 34 at one side of the mechanism, and similar wheels 39 and 40 are fixed upon the shafts 34 and 33 respectively at the other side of the mechanism. The wheels 37 and 39 are therefore rotated in the same direction and the wheels 38 and 40 in the same direction but the opposite of that in which the wheels 37 and 39 are rotated. By reference to Figure 4 it will be observed that the wheels 37 and 39 occupy a common plane as do also the wheels 38 and 40 but these two sets of wheels are relatively offset so that the planes which they occupy are parallel but spaced. In mounting the color media 16 and 17, they are disposed to rest at the lower side of their rims one upon the grooved peripheries of the wheels 37 and 39 and the other upon the grooved peripheries of the wheels 38 and 40. The media are thus" supported at their lower sides by the said wheels, and in order that the media said wheels, rotary motion will be imparted to the media. It will also be noted that one wheel of each set will exert a pulling force upon the rim of the respective color medium and the other wheel will exert a pushing force against said rim so that the media are rotated with a steady and uniform movement.

Figure 8 of the drawings illustrates a slightly modified form of the operating mechanism, the motor in this case, indicated by the numeral 43. being vertically disposed and provided upon the upper end of its shaft with a worm 44 meshing with worm gears 45 upon shafts 46 which carry peripherally grooved drive wheels 47 in contact with which the rims of the color mediaare designed to rest.

Returning to a consideration of nigure 4 it will be observed that the gears 35 and 36 are of the same size and that the wheels 37, 38,39 and 40 are likewise all of the same diameter and as a consequence the color media 16 and 17 will be rotated in relatively opposite directions at the same rate of speed. However it may be found desirable to reproportion the gears or the drive wheels so as to effect a rotation of the color media at different rates of speed. Also the sequence of the color fields of each media might be varied.

It will be understood thatthe sides of the casing of the sign may be cut with stencils to convey a message or to display a firm name, trade-mark, or any other desired matter.

If desired. oiled paper. parchment. Japanese silk. or some similar material. may be used in place of glass. gelatin. or celluloid, in the manufacture of the display surface of the sign and in these instances the wire mesh material may be dispensed with.

Also it will be understood that while remarkably attractive results may be obtained by employing two color screens. a single one of such screens may be employed in the manufacture of a cheaper sign. Furthermore it is not absolutely essential that the device be adapted to display advertising matter, for it might be employed merely as an attentionattracting means.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a sign, a display surface having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a source of illumination, and light-ray-transmitting color media movable relatively one to another between the display surface and the said source of illumination, the said media each having a plurality of fields of different primary colors whereby in the relative movement of the media the fields will be caused to pass one another and effect compositions of the primary spectral colors, one of said media having a white-light-transmitting field.

2. In a sign, a display surface having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a source of illumination, and light-ray-transmitting color media movable relatively one to an-' other between the display surface and the said source of illumination, the said media each having a plurality of fields of different primary colors whereby in the relative movement of the media the fields will be caused to pass one another and effect compositions of the primary spectral colors, one of said media having white-light-transmitting fields lying between relatively adjacent ones of the primary color fields.

3. In a sign, a display surface having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a source of illumination, and light-ray-transmitting color media rotatable relative one to another between the display surface and the said source of illumination and each having a plurality of primary color fields extending substantially radial to the axis of rotation of the respective one of the media, the said color fields being of irregular contour.

4. In a sign, a display surface having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a source of illuminations, and light-ray-transmitting color media rotatable relative one to another between the display surface and the said source of illumination and each having a plurality of fields of different primary colors extending in a direction from the axis toward the periphery of the respective one of the media, and of irregular contour.

5. In a sign, a display surface having a li ht-ray-transmitting portion, a source of i1 umination, and light-ray-transmitting color media rotatable relative one to. another between the display surface and the said source of illumination and each having a plurality of fields of different primary colors extending in a direction from theaxis toward the periphery of the respective one of the media, each of said media being further provided with a white-light-transmitting field.

6. In a sign, a display surface having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a source of illumination, and light-ray-transmitting color. media movable relative one to another between the display surface and the said source of illumination and each having fields of different colors, the media being disposed with their color fields extending in non-corresponding directions, each media being also provided with white-light-transmitting fields interposed between relatively adjacent ones of its primary color fields.

7. In a sign, a source of illumination, a light-ray-transmitting color medium movable relative to the source of illumination in the path of the light rays passing therefrom, and a display surface in the path of the light rays passing from the said source through the color. medium, the said display surface comprising a sign character display medium having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a diffractive medium between the same and the color medium, and a light-ray pencilling medium between the diffractive medium and the said color medium.

8. A sign display surface comprising, in combination, a sign character display medium having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a diffractive medium presented to the rear face of the first mentioned medium, and a light-ray pencilling medium presented to the rear face of the diifractive medium.

9. A sign display surfacecomprising, in combination, a sign character display medium having a light-ray-transmitting portion, a difiractive medium presented to the rear face of the first mentioned medium, and a light-ray pencilling medium presented to the rear face of the diffractive medium, I the said pencilling medium comprising a 105 sheet having a number of relatively small light-ray-transmitting areas.

10. In a sign, a source of illumination, light-ray-transmitting color media movable relative to the source of illumination in the 1 path of the light rays passing therefrom and also movable relative to each other and each having fields of different primary colors whereby to produce a composition of said primary colors, constantly changing, and a display surface in the path of the light .rays passing from the said source through the said color media.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

PERCIVAL W. SHEPHARD. [L. 8.] 

